Windows Server Monitoring and Administration

The 2012 summer reading list for IT pros

From an IT detective story to the tale of the world's most wanted hacker, these 10 books will feed your need for tech this summer.  Feature

Special Report: App delivery in a 24/7 world

Ten great summer books for IT pros

Stretch your mind this summer with one or more of these great books. We cover it all from Microsoft to the evolution of the Helvetica font.  Summer reading list

Microsoft licensing enhancements aid service model approach

Microsoft continues to tweak its licensing in support of customers considering a move to the service model now or down the road.  Q&A;

Top five Windows Server tips of 2010

Ring in the New Year with the top Windows Server tips of 2010, including the most common Hyper-V hiccups to avoid and the latest on domain controller virtualization.  Top Tips

Five Windows Server books to watch for in 2011

Looking to take your Windows know-how to the next level? Motivated admins might consider adding these books to their reading lists in 2011.  2011 Preview

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 spotlight

With SP1 now available, organizations are likely to pay closer attention to what the latest version of Microsoft’s popular messaging system has to offer.  IT Spotlight

Top iPhone apps for Windows admins: Admin Pocket Consultants

The Admin Pocket Consultants are a series of mobile mini-books that cover a variety of Microsoft topics, including several Windows platforms, Active Directory and SharePoint.  Slideshow

Top iPhone apps for Windows admins: Jump Desktop

Windows admins can manage their PCs from their iPhones with Jump Desktop, a remote desktop management application noted for its quick setup and extensive RDP support.  Slideshow

Guide to Microsoft System Center

System Center is Microsoft's trademark systems management product suite. This page will guide you through what's what, with details on the latest features and releases.  Learning Center

Configuration Manager R3 zeros in on power management

Microsoft has put an emphasis on green IT with its next release for System Center Configuration Manager 2007, but will organizations feel the need to upgrade?  Article | 18 Aug 2010

Microsoft critical support plan comes with sticker shock

For a hefty price, Microsoft now offers a dedicated support plan for computers in Windows shops where even a second of downtime is too much.  Article | 11 Aug 2010

Mark Russinovich moves to Azure – what does it all mean?

News that the Sysinternals guru has joined Microsoft's Windows Azure team has lit up the Web, and could inspire more interest in the company's overall cloud platform.  News | 05 Aug 2010

New Azure appliance too big for IT

Microsoft's "Azure-in-a-box" announcement might be a big step forward for the private cloud, but its limited release only makes it viable for very large organizations.  News | 13 Jul 2010

Free Windows performance monitoring tools not to be missed

Unbeknownst to some admins, the latest versions of Windows Server include new or updated tools that can minimize the need for third-party options.  Article | 22 Jun 2010

Windows 7 and 2008 R2 service packs go beyond virtualization

While dynamic memory features have received most of the press, the first service pack for Windows 2008 R2 will also include improvements to DirectAccess and Active Directory.  Article | 11 Jun 2010

What is Windows Server AppFabric?

There are two versions of AppFabric – one for cloud applications and another for in-house apps. Here's what they can do for you.  Article | 04 Jun 2010

What's next for Windows Server and beyond?

While details on the next release of Windows Server have already started to trickle out, it could be the last traditional server OS from Microsoft before the cloud takes over.  Column | 11 May 2010

Mark Minasi, Microsoft MinWin and you

Microsoft has a long way to go before it reaches its goal for MinWin. Windows expert Mark Minasi talks about what MinWin means to IT professionals.  Article | 04 Dec 2009

Top free tools for Windows server administration

They say the best things in life are free, and that's definitely true for Windows tools. Our experts pick some of their favorite freeware and open source utilities for server admins.  Article | 06 Apr 2009

Multiserver administration and more with RSAT in Windows Server 2012

Microsoft's Remote Server Administration Tools received an update in time for Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. What's new?  Tip

Revamped Windows Performance Toolkit improves performance monitoring

Performance monitoring gets a graphical boost with the release of several new event tracing tools.  Tip

Windows Server 8 data deduplication delivers efficient storage

Thought single-instance storage was as good as it gets? Server 8's native deduplication will increase efficiency, especially for virtual servers.  Tip

How MAP Toolkit 6.5 can put you on the right migration path

The latest edition of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit offers expanded features to ease local and cloud-based migrations.  Tip

Using Microsoft PerfView to profile process performance data

Microsoft made its internal performance monitoring tool available to the public. Here's how it offers an advanced peek at application processes.  Tip

Bringing Windows RDS to the web: Designing the DMZ

Remote Desktop Gateway secures Internet access for Remote Desktop Services applications – if you set it up properly.  Tip

Remote Management in Windows Server 8

Windows Server 8 is set to improve on a solid remote management foundation, but there are changes, like the move to GUI-less deployments, to consider.  Tip

Using the Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit

The Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit can help make Windows Server upgrades easier.  Tip

Using Xperf stack walking to pinpoint kernel performance issues

The Xperf tool helps admins diagnose performance issues, but how do you granularly determine what function calls are eating up precious resources?  Tip

Understanding the Windows Server 8 Cluster Aware Update Wizard

Cluster-Aware Updating won't end Patch Tuesday – but it will make administration of server clusters much easier.  Tip

FAQ: Hardening Windows servers

Here's why you should treat your server like a workstation -- and not a server -- when it comes to security.  Answer

Is there a way to input multiple user accounts into a Windows 2003 database?

An admin wonders if it's possible to input multiple user accounts into a Windows Server 2003 database. Our server management expert supplies a method that administrators can use to complete this task.  Ask the Expert

Can 32-bit and 64-bit domain controllers co-exist?

An admin wonders if running two new 64-bit servers and one 32-bit server as an Active directory server will cause problems. Our server management expert addresses this concern.  Ask the Expert

Can native OS tools enable file-access auditing?

Our systems management expert explains how to set up file-access auditing using native tools in Windows and where third-party tools fit into the file-access auditing process.  Ask the Expert

Add domain group to local admins group on XP workstations at one time

I have a domain group that needs to be added to the local administrators group on all our WinXP workstations. How can I accomplish this all at one time, instead of connecting to computer management on all these workstations one at a time?  Ask the Expert

Receive all outgoing email in Exchange 2003

I'm using Exchange 2003 & Windows Server 2003 and I want to receive a copy of every outgoing email that is sent by every user. How can I do this?  Ask the Expert

Configure DNS in Windows 2003

How do I configure a DNS server in Windows 2003?  Ask the Expert

Allow users to access shared folders in Windows 2000

I have a Windows 2000 domain controller. I created an additional domain controller and created shared folders for users, but the users are not able to access those folders using Windows XP. Even after accessing and giving a username and password, i...  Ask the Expert

Manipulating BGInfo.exe

I am an administrator at a small firm that has inherited a group of servers running Windows 2003 that have a desktop wallpaper using BGInfo.exe. When logging on it always shows an error about its services. I can't stop the service because it always ...  Ask the Expert

Can I adjust proxy settings to automatically set at each user login?

I am using a proxy server in our network and I manually set the proxy settings in Internet Explorer on every client computer. However, this exercise is repeated on every new user profile where numerous users are using one client machine. Is there any...  Ask the Expert

Windows Sysinternals

Windows Sysinternals is a Microsoft-owned repository for freeware utilities.  Definition

DirectAccess

DirectAccess is a feature introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that uses automated IPv6 and IPSec tunnels to allow remote users to access private network resources whenever they are connected to the Internet.  Definition

IIS (Internet Information Server)

Internet Information Server (IIS) is a group of Internet servers from Microsoft that can be installed with its Windows NT and 2000 operating systems.  Definition

Active Directory

Active Directory is Microsoft's trademarked directory service, an integral part of the Windows 2000 architecture. Like other directory services, such as Novell Directory Services (NDS), Active Directory is a centralized and standardized system. (Cont...  Definition

Microsoft System Center

Microsoft System Center is a suite of individually sold systems management products... (Continued)  Definition

catastrophic failure

Catastrophic failure is a complete, sudden, often unexpected breakdown in a machine, electronic system, computer or network. This may occur as a result of a hardware event such as a disk drive crash, memory chip failure or surge on the power line... ...  Definition

hotfix

A hotfix is code (sometimes called a patch) that fixes a bug in a product.  Definition

Active Server Page (ASP)

ASP is also an abbreviation for application service provider.  Definition

Recapping the year in Windows, looking ahead to 2011

Consultant and author Jonathan Hassell calls in to discuss the past year in IT and previews what's to come for Windows and other Microsoft technologies.  Podcast

The Windows Report -- Looking ahead to 2010

A quick recap of the year that was, with a look ahead to 2010. IT author and consultant Jonathan Hassell calls in to discuss what will be the big Windows topics next year.  Video

The Windows Report -- Will AD have your back in Windows 2008 R2?

In the August edition of The Windows Report, Don Jones discusses what to expect from the new Active Directory Recycle Bin in Windows Server 2008 R2, and Gary Olsen demonstrates how to quickly perform an AD replication health check. Video

A basic introduction to Windows PowerShell

Interested in learning to use Windows PowerShell? This short screencast explains the basics of the Microsoft scripting language and walks you through some simple commands to get you started.  Video

Multiserver administration and more with RSAT in Windows Server 2012

Microsoft's Remote Server Administration Tools received an update in time for Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. What's new?  Tip

FAQ: Hardening Windows servers

Here's why you should treat your server like a workstation -- and not a server -- when it comes to security.  Answer

The 2012 summer reading list for IT pros

From an IT detective story to the tale of the world's most wanted hacker, these 10 books will feed your need for tech this summer.  Feature

Revamped Windows Performance Toolkit improves performance monitoring

Performance monitoring gets a graphical boost with the release of several new event tracing tools.  Tip

Windows Sysinternals

Windows Sysinternals is a Microsoft-owned repository for freeware utilities.  Definition

DirectAccess

DirectAccess is a feature introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that uses automated IPv6 and IPSec tunnels to allow remote users to access private network resources whenever they are connected to the Internet.  Definition

Windows Server 8 data deduplication delivers efficient storage

Thought single-instance storage was as good as it gets? Server 8's native deduplication will increase efficiency, especially for virtual servers.  Tip

How MAP Toolkit 6.5 can put you on the right migration path

The latest edition of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit offers expanded features to ease local and cloud-based migrations.  Tip

Using Microsoft PerfView to profile process performance data

Microsoft made its internal performance monitoring tool available to the public. Here's how it offers an advanced peek at application processes.  Tip

Bringing Windows RDS to the web: Designing the DMZ

Remote Desktop Gateway secures Internet access for Remote Desktop Services applications – if you set it up properly.  Tip